Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 1058: Powerful Sweden

Two weeks later, the Ming Dynasty delegation ended its visit to Poland and left Warsaw, the capital of the Kingdom of Poland, and began its journey to Sweden, another major diplomatic country in Europe this time.

Before leaving, Wang Fuzhi and Zheng Hongkui were once again warmly received by Władysław IV and went to the royal palace for a banquet.

Before the banquet, Wang Fuzhi and Zheng Hongkui met with Władysław IV in private. Outsiders did not know what the two sides discussed, but from Władysław IV's smile, it can be seen that he got what he wanted from the Ming delegation, and so did Wang Fuzhi and Zheng Hongkui.

Before the mission left, Wang Fuzhi left a few people in Warsaw as Ming Dynasty's stay-at-home personnel to make preliminary preparations for the establishment of the subsequent embassy. In addition to Poland, the same will be true for Sweden. In the future, both countries will have diplomatic envoys sent by Ming Dynasty, but the personnel left now are only temporary personnel of the mission. The official personnel will be appointed by the court and the emperor after they return to Ming Dynasty to report the results of this mission and officially take office.

In Sweden, Adolf, who had returned home earlier, was looking forward to the arrival of the delegation, but he also knew that according to the itinerary, the delegation would first arrive in Poland, and then go to Sweden after completing Poland's diplomacy.

Moreover, the key reason why the Ming Dynasty delegation came to Europe was because of Władysław IV. If Władysław IV had not received the letter from the Holy See from the Far East and decided to send envoys to the Ming Dynasty for diplomatic communication, and at the same time brought the Kingdom of Sweden into the picture, Adolf would not have made his subsequent trip to the East.

Although this mission to the Ming Dynasty encountered many risks along the way and took a long time of about three years, it was a huge gain for Adolf himself.

What he saw and heard in the Ming Dynasty and the shock he received were incomparable. Moreover, through this mission, Adolf not only took advantage of the opportunity to make huge profits, but also made friends like Wang Fuzhi and Zheng Hongkui, and even saw the noble and majestic Emperor of the Ming Dynasty with his own eyes.

After returning to Sweden, Adolf was summoned to the royal palace immediately to meet with Queen Christina and Prime Minister Count Axel Oxenstierna, and reported to them about his mission to the Ming Dynasty and his experiences in the Ming Dynasty, including what he saw and heard.

At the same time, he also brought back exquisite gifts from the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty to the Swedish royal family. After listening to Adolf's story and witnessing with her own eyes the exquisiteness and magnificence of those gifts that had never been seen in Europe, Her Majesty the Queen was extremely happy and immediately praised Adolf. She conferred him the title of Earl for his achievements in his mission to the East, thus making him leap from an ordinary nobleman to a member of the Swedish nobility.

Queen Christina is the second daughter of the former Swedish King Gustav II. Because her sister died young, she is the only heir to the Swedish royal family. After Gustav II was killed in the Battle of Lützen, Christina, who was only six years old, inherited the throne and became the Queen of Sweden.

Because Christina was too young when she succeeded to the throne, the country was assisted by Prime Minister Count Axel Oxenstierna as regent. Count Axel Oxenstierna was a great politician and also a loyal subject of the Swedish royal family. Under his leadership, the Kingdom of Sweden survived the domestic chaos and a series of diplomatic difficulties after the death of Gustav II in battle, making the country stable and ensuring the smooth succession of Her Majesty the Queen.

In addition, although the Prime Minister and the Queen had different political views, conflicts broke out between the two sides, especially their respective judgments on the Kingdom of Sweden's participation in the Thirty Years' War in Europe. The young Queen believed that the Thirty Years' War had caused great damage and plunged the whole of Europe into war. She hoped that peace would come soon, and opposed allowing the Kingdom of Sweden to continue to compete with the Habsburg Dynasty and the Roman Catholic Church as a major member of the alliance.

This was certainly due to the queen's desire for peace, but also due to her personal belief in Catholicism. You should know that the Kingdom of Sweden is a Protestant country, and the Thirty Years' War in Europe was actually a continuation of the religious war between Protestants and Catholics. As the queen of the Kingdom of Sweden and the actual ruler of the country, Christina sympathized with Catholicism and intended to withdraw Sweden from the war in advance, which was inconsistent with the national policy at the time.

However, the Prime Minister insisted that Sweden continue to participate in the war. In his opinion, continuing the war would be of great benefit to the future of the Swedish nation. And the facts also proved that the Prime Minister's judgment was correct. Not long ago, with the signing of the Treaty of the Thirty Years' War, the final winner was the alliance led by France and Sweden. With this victory, the Kingdom of Sweden not only gained huge benefits in military and political aspects, but also achieved its goal in territorial expansion, making the country stronger and stronger.

Although there was a quarrel between the Queen and the Prime Minister because of this issue, the relationship between the two was still good. The Queen always showed great respect for the Prime Minister who assisted her like a father and elder. In the end, Sweden was able to hold on until the end of the Thirty Years' War and win, which was not unrelated to the Queen's final concession.

Moreover, when the queen was 18 years old, the prime minister kept his promise and returned the power to the queen, allowing her to officially rule the country. This alone shows that this old man with high moral standards is really extraordinary and deserves great respect. This time, sending Adolf as the envoy of the Kingdom of Sweden and Poland to the Ming Dynasty was also the candidate selected by the two after consultation. Adolf's smooth return and the upcoming arrival of the Ming Dynasty delegation also proved that their choice was correct.

In the expectation of the whole Kingdom of Sweden, the king and his entourage left Poland and headed north, and soon arrived at the Swedish border and entered the Swedish territory. Today's Sweden is not the Sweden of later generations. Today's Sweden is one of the most powerful countries in Europe. Its territory is extremely vast, covering the entire territory of today's Sweden, and also extending to Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, and even Norway and parts of northern Germany, with a total area of ​​about 110 million square kilometers.

This land area is almost twice the size of later generations, equivalent to the total land area of ​​France and Spain today. From this point of view, in terms of land area, Sweden is an absolute big country. Coupled with Sweden's strong military power and economy, it was one of the hegemons of Europe at that time.

The current capital of Sweden is Stockholm, which is the political, economic and cultural center of Sweden. It has been the capital of Sweden since the Middle Ages and continues to be so in later generations.

After entering Sweden, the delegation clearly felt the vitality and strength of Sweden. Compared with Poland, which they had just left, the whole of Sweden was full of a prosperous atmosphere, which was incomparable to Poland and the states in the German region they passed through.

In order to show respect for the Ming Dynasty delegation, Her Majesty the Queen also specially dispatched a royal guard to the border to welcome the delegation. Adolf, who had just been promoted from Viscount to Earl, was an old friend of the Ming Dynasty delegation and naturally volunteered to take on this important task.

After receiving the delegation, Adolf was very happy. Although the two sides had not been apart for long, only two months, it was a great pleasure to meet them again, especially as the host in Sweden to welcome Wang Fuzhi and his party. Adolf showed great enthusiasm and personally served as a guide to take them to the capital, introducing the customs and people of the Kingdom of Sweden along the way.

Ten days later, the group finally arrived in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, and were arranged to live in the palace specially prepared for them by Her Majesty the Queen.

Two days later, Her Majesty the Queen held a grand welcome banquet for the Ming Dynasty delegation. Participants included not only many Swedish nobles, but also royal members and nobles from other countries in Sweden. This banquet was not comparable to the one they had in Poland. The national strength and status of the two countries were completely unequal. With the influence of the Kingdom of Sweden, the magnificence of this banquet attracted even more attention.

Before the banquet began, Wang Fuzhi and Zheng Hongkui met with Queen Christina and Prime Minister Count Axel Oxenstierna who accompanied the Queen.

Facing guests from afar, both Her Majesty the Queen and His Excellency the Prime Minister showed the utmost respect and courtesy, and were also curious and interested in the envoys from the Ming Dynasty.

Although they had learned a lot about the Ming Dynasty from Adolf before, Adolf was not a Ming Dynasty person after all, and what he said could not fully represent the real Ming Dynasty. But Wang Fuzhi and Zheng Hongkui were different. They were the chief and deputy envoys of the Ming Dynasty to Europe, and one was an official and scholar of the Ming Dynasty, and the other was an admiral and earl of the Ming Dynasty. During the meeting, the young Queen asked a lot of questions about the Ming Dynasty. Wang Fuzhi and Zheng Hongkui, who had been prepared for a long time, answered them one by one and explained some of their previous doubts. This broadened Her Majesty's horizons and made her very happy. Even the Prime Minister nodded slightly with a smile on his face.

Due to time constraints and the fact that today's meeting was not a formal audience, the two sides did not spend too much time talking. What followed was a grand banquet and enthusiastic hospitality. Two days after attending the banquet, Her Majesty the Queen formally invited Wang Fuzhi and others to meet at the palace. This time was much different from the simple conversation last time. After the initial courtesy, the two sides gradually began formal exchanges. At this time, Wang Fuzhi also remembered what the emperor had told him to do, and at the appropriate opportunity, he put forward Daming's request, including the intention to cooperate.

Formal state affairs are basically decided by the Prime Minister, and Her Majesty the Queen only asks about some specifics and expresses her own suggestions.

Regardless, the subsequent progress was basically smooth. Perhaps it was because Adolf had reported the request and intention of the Ming Dynasty to Her Majesty the Queen and the Prime Minister in advance after returning to Sweden, and the Swedish side had already been prepared and made the corresponding decision.

Apart from some minor issues, the two parties quickly reached an agreement on the basic cooperation. The Kingdom of Sweden agreed to many of the Ming Dynasty's demands, and Wang Fuzhi also made commitments to the Ming Dynasty based on the authorization granted by the emperor.

It can be said that this result was a win-win for everyone. A week later, Wang Fuzhi, as the chief envoy of the Ming Dynasty, signed an agreement with the Swedish Prime Minister Count Axel Oxenstierna. With the signing of the agreement, it marked that the two sides reached a consensus and thus became a comprehensive cooperation based on allies.

(End of this chapter)